RED CORN BREAD

The Great White Hunter made a brief appearance coming out of hibernation to go on a Meat Adventure.We have our usual meat haunts to stalk up our ice chests There is a farm stand near Angleo's Meats and I asked the GWH to pull over to take a look. It was a nice stand which grew all its produce right on the property. What caught my eye was an old fashioned grain grinder. The sign said "Grind Your Own Polenta Corn". They also had red corn kernels to be ground. I was hooked.

I had to ask instructions against my manlyman code and it was very simple to use. You turn it on, feed the hopper and remove ground grain from lower drawer. I also asked the clerk the type/variety of the red corn. Her answer of 'Red Corn'  was a little disappointing because there are hundreds of varieties of corn. The flour that emerged from the grinder was a course red corn flour that immediately made me think of corn bread. The sign said Polenta but cornbread is more in my wheelhouse. This will work.

I used one cup of the red corn flour and mixed it with the all-purpose flour. This will make the cornbread a little lighter. I also cooked the cornbread on a kettle covered grill because it has been hot around these parts. This was a standard corn bread recipe but I added bacon and fresh corn too. You know I had to add the bacon. It turned out fantastic. The red corn flour did not have a pronounced corn flavor but it did have a nice added texture. It had a nuanced corn flavored reinforced with the fresh corn to make a wonderful bread.

   It was nice to hang out with the Great White Hunter. He has gone back into hibernation. It was fun to grind my own corn flour. 

I LIKE PIE

I do like pie. We were on our way home and the Redding Farmers Market was a welcome pit/pie stop. This is a small farmers market with several local farmers. This women bakes home made pies and breads. They are mini pies. So many flavors made choosing the crumb apple a hard decision. In hindsight I should of bought several other flavors like peach, pecan and rhubarb. I do like pie.

LASSEN 5th ANNUAL BBQ COOK-OFF

This weekend we were at a very fun event in Susanville California. I believe the pictures will tell the story about all the fun we had. See you soon.

  

MY TEN DOLLAR CUP OF COFFEE

'My father would probably turn over in his grave if he knew I paid ten dollars for a cup of ‘Joe’. I did pay 10 dollars at an elite ‘Starbucks Reserve Bar” coffee house for a single cup of coffee. These are not the same stores that you see on every other corner but a special house that serves their premium Starbucks Reserve brand coffee; In their words; “Starbucks Reserve is a selection of the rarest, most extraordinary coffees Starbucks has to offer. It’s where we push our own boundaries of craft, developing a unique roast for each individual lot before experimenting with coffee as an art form”. I do like a good cup of coffee so let’s give it a try.
    There are only three Bay Area locations of the Starbucks Reserve Bar and we are in the tony town of Danville California. I almost drove by because the recognizable logo and familiar Starbucks features were not visible from the front of the building. I walked into a warm, comfortable, modern setting. The first thing I saw was the “Siphon” machine. This was going to be a new coffee experience.

Starbucks has a line-up of coffee beans that is trademarked “Starbucks Reserve” These are beans that are rare, roasted daily, small farmed and with limited availability. The menu has different ways of brewing these said beans. There is a ‘pour over’, and the signature ‘Clover’ machine which is a type of industrial ‘French Press” This store also has a unique way of brewing called the ‘Siphon”. I ordered, by the recommendation of the clerk, a cup of Malawi Sable Farms. (Subtle citrus with hints of cedar and ginger accents). This was going to be made by my own personal barista in the Siphon machine. Oh and by the way it was ten dollars for a cup.

My own private barista was named Ferdinand (I just made this name up to protect the baristas identity). He started this intriguing journey by pouring me a glass of sparkling water to clear my palate. I had a front row seat directly in front of the siphon machine. This contraption consists of a unique glass beaker with an upper and lower compartments held over a heat source. The heat source heats the water to 120 degrees. The lower beaker is then closed so that the heat creates a suction vacuum to bring the water to a second chamber on top of the beaker. Ferdinand then poured freshly ground Malawi coffee beans into the hot water. He stirred the mixture, not once, not twice but three times in a 90 second time period to let the coffee steep to perfection. The brewed coffee was released back to the bottom chamber through a filter.

Ferdinand poured the coffee into a silver serving vessel, put it on a wooden serving tray and confidently walked around the corner and presented it to me in grand fashion. He also gave me a miniature coffee mug to savor and smell the aroma. Let me tell you this was one smooth cup of coffee. It did have citrus, hints of cedar and ginger but what I really liked about it was the lack of bitterness. This process removes all bitter compounds.

My ten dollar cup of coffee was an act of edible performance art. It was a very good tasting and possibly one of the finest cups I have ever had. It was mesmerizing watching Ferdinand go through the Siphon process. I enjoyed having my own personal barista. For a couple of minutes I was King of the coffee house. I did enjoy my 10 dollar cup of coffee. Sorry Dad.

IMPOSSIBLE WHOPPER

I had to do it. I had to see what all the fuss was about. Burger King has a 100 percent meatless  burger. Today was the revealing and I stood in a line of one to get this new fangled plant based burger. It is not vegan because I ordered it with cheese, mayonaisse and it was cooked on the same grill as the real meat Whoppers. This creation is called the Impossible Whopper. The texture was of beef. The flavor was mild with a kiss of the grill flavor. With lettuce, tomato mayonnaise, pickle and onion it was not bad. My question is why?

TIOMATO TIME

They are here. They are at the market and my backyard. We are of course talking about fresh tomatoes. The aroma, the texture and the wonderful tomato flavor just cannot be beat in the summer time. I can see bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches in my near future. The tomatoes below are from my backyard and are the 'Cherokee Purple' variety. Bring on the tomatoes.